Delirium
by ObsidianButterfly28
Summary: 12 years have passed since the marriage proposal between Prince Cloud Strife of Midgar and Princess Tifa Lockhart of Nibelheim was decreed. Cloud, a provocative and defiant prince wants nothing to do with his bride-to-be. What happens when Princess Tifa is sent to live at castle Midgar to become better acquainted with her King-to-be? AU Story is better than the summary
1. Prolgue

_**Okie, so this is the fic I mentioned in my recent journal. Again, it is an AU and certain characters will be OOC (don't shoot me) but only because it works better with the storyline as it progresses. I REALLY hope you guys are at least a little intrigued by the prologue. Please let me know what you think about it. Constructive Criticism and suggestions are most definitely welcome.**_

Also, this is just the prologue to the story so it is a bit short, but the future chapters will be much longer

I'm very nervous because I've never written a story like this before so please be gentle XD 

_**I hope you enjoy it! **_

_*Flashback*_

_ "Come now, young prince...don't you want to look nice the queen of Nibelheim and young princess Tifa?" "Someday, when you are all grown up, you're going to marry her, you know._

_A young blonde prince at the age of nine sat in a chair in front of a tall, wide mirror as his appointed chamber-maid continued her ministrations to attempt to control his pale blond, exceedingly unruly hair. _

"_This is so stupid..I don't wanna get married, EVER!" the young prince shouted, reaching his hands up to fluff his hair back to it's original unruly state. _

_The plump, older women chuckled and shook her head at the way the little prince groaned and whined about how gross getting married is. Trying to explain to him that he would think differently when he was older was about as useless as getting that hair tamed. _

_Today, the young prince of Midgar was to be escorted along with his mother to meet his betrothed. Upon the day that princess of Nibelheim was to come of age, prince Cloud Strife, son of Queen Ifalna and King Odin and princess Tifa Lockhart, daughter of King Zangan of Nibelheim, were to be bound together in matrimony. Naturally, a marriage of convenience, Midgar was one of the most powerful kingdoms to ever rule and the resources which Nibelheim could offer, if under Midgar's rule, would undoubtedly be beneficial to the kingdom's already supreme wealth._

_Reluctantly, young prince Cloud was dressed in his formal attire to meet the king of Nibelheim and his betrothed. Dressed in a fitting white silk button up shirt with a deep brown vest overlaying it, he donned black suede trousers and knee high leather boots. There he sat in the carriage with his mother on sitting on the opposite side of the carriage, facing her tempestuous son. He mindlessly toyed with his thin gold crown and wore a frown which hadn't left his face since his parents had told him of his destiny. Queen Ifalna took notice of her son's boredom and took the crown from his hands to place it back, gently atop his head, where she attempted to flatten his hair, but to no avail. _

_Queen Ifalna could sympathize with her young son's disdain to get married. Although for him, the thought of being married to a "girl" was enough of a reason to cause him to be completely against the very idea. Whereas Ifalna knew all too well, the hardship of being betrothed to someone you hardly know. In fact, Ifalna didn't meet her betrothed until the day of the ceremony. She despised Odin at first, but as the years carried on, they grew to love each other and eventually, that love turned into a deeper love than either of them could have ever hoped for. Not all betrothed marriages were that lucky though. Ifalna instantly thought of her sister Elmyra, who even after being married to King Heidegger of Junon for well over a decade now, she still despised him due to his adulterous and misogynistic behavior. She desperately hoped that her son would not be forced to suffer through a loveless marriage, but either way, Cloud would have no choice in the matter. Once a marriage proposal was decreed and signed by the parents of both children, there was no going back. _

_Ifalna drew in a deep breath and released it slowly as the carriage approached three figures standing in the distance in front of the castle gates. Once the carriage stopped moving, two servants dressed in formal attire opened the carriage, holding out one hand for the queen of Midgar which she graciously accepted as she stepped out. The young prince, however, swatted away the servant's courteous hand and proceeded to hop out of the carriage, causing his thin gold crown to fall lopsided on his head. _

_Ifalna smiled demurely and nodded her head in acknowledgment of the King of Nibelheim. A kind man, Zangan was a gracious ruler, known to maintain peace above all else within his kingdom. He was, quite frankly, the opposite of King Odin, who was known to rule with an iron fist. _

_A six year old princess Tifa, stood next to her father, dressed in a frilly pink gown with her thick chocolate hair pulled to one side, a pink ribbon tied into the ends of her hair. _

_Zangan smiled at his daughter, the apple of his eye and proceeded to greet Queen Ifalna of Midgar and his daughter's betrothed. "It is good to see you Ifalna, It is unfortunate that Odin could not come as well." Odin was busy dealing with negotiations with Icicle village and was unable to take the 3 day trip to Nibelheim, he trusted his wife could handle the situatuon. _

"_Yes, it is quite unfortunate." Ifalna acknowledged. She tugged forward her son, who was purposefully looking in every direction expect Tifa's, by the hand to present him to his future wife and her father. "May I present my son, Prince Cloud Strife." _

_Thoroughly annoyed with how he was forced into greeting them, Cloud shot a knowing glance to his mother who in turn, gave him an angry scowl, letting him know silently that he would be reprimanded should he not obey. He was suddenly taken off guard when he felt the princess cling to him in a tight embrace. _

_He scowled at the brat clinging to him and she looked up at him and smiled sweetly. He took notice that both of her front teeth had fallen out relatively recently, leaving a gaping hole in her smile. _

"_We're gonna be soooo happy together, Cloud...I'll even share my toys with you so we can play together." She continued embracing him and Cloud forcefully pushed her off, his gaze returning to his mother. _

"_MOM." he whined loudly, "Why do I have to get married to HER!?" he pointed to the young princess, her lower lip trembling as she was ready to burst into tears at Cloud's rejection. _

_Iflana rolled her eyes and sighed at her undisciplined son. "Because it is your duty at as a prince, you'll understand when you're older." She reassured. _

_Cloud snuffed, his lips twisted in disgust as he pointedly glared at the little brat he was eventually going to have to marry. _

_Zangan crouched to be at his daughter's level. "You two stay outside, while the adults go inside the castle and have a chat." He got up and tousled the young prince's hair, now earning one of the prince's disdainful looks._

_Ifalna put a hand to her son's shoulder. "Be nice Cloud." She warned and followed Zangan and the two servants past the castle gates. _

_Once the adults were out of site. Tifa turned to him with that same gaped grin and proceeded to chase him. Cloud ran frantically, trying his best to avoid her, weaving in and out through the gates. When she finally caught up with him, he shoved her to the ground, causing her to fall flat on her behind. _

_Tifa began crying instantly, incredibly taken back by his actions. "I just wanted to play with you! Why don't you wanna play?!" She shouted in between sobs._

_Cloud rolled his eyes and folded his arms into his chest. "Oh c'mon you big baby, don't be such a whiner, I don't wanna play with you EVER, you can't even play boy games!" he shouted to her, a touch of resentment laced his voice. _

_Tifa wiped her eyes and picked herself up off the ground, the entire back side of her frilly dress now coated with dirt, marred with a few pieces of crushed grass. "Sure I can! Why can't I?" she shouted back to him, determined to get him to play with her. _

_Cloud shook his head and pointed to her. "Because you're a GIRL and girls can't play boy games." _

"_CLOUD!" _

_Cloud winced at the recognition of his mother's voice piercing the atmosphere. He slowly turned to face his scowling mother. "Sorry mom..." he said with contempt. _

_She shook her head and took her son's hand. "Come now, it's time to leave." _

_After thanking Zangan for his hospitality, She turned to place a hand on top of young Tifa's head and nodded as means of saying goodbye to her._

_Cloud shot Tifa one more curt look and turned back to walk to the carriage._

_Tifa watched them board the carriage and stroll off. She clasped her father's hand with hers and tugged it a few times to get his attention. "Where are they going daddy?" _

_Zangan smiled at his daughter and proceeded to pick her up, one hand supporting her while she rested at his hip. "Don't worry, my sweet, you'll see each other again one day..you're going to be the queen of Midgar, one of the most powerful kingdoms in all of Gaia." _

_With a toothy grin, Tifa clung to her father, pressing her cheek against his. _

_It was done, the marriage proposal had been signed. Prince Cloud and Princess Tifa, were now betrothed. _


	2. Chapter I: Letting Hell Break Loose

_Well, here is chapter 1 of Delirium. I know I said I was going to make this chapter longer than the prologue but I felt like it was best to stop here; sort of an "end scene" if you will. Tifa's arrival will be in the next chapter so we'll see how Cloud reacts and also we'll get a peak of Tifa's perspective of the predicament as well._

i really hope you guys enjoy! Chapter II will be up soon so STAY TUNED

Please Read and Review: I love hearing from you guys!

_Much love and ENJOY!_

* * *

Castle Midgar sat atop a large mountain, it's gorgeous, dark stone walls , glittering in the midday sun as seagulls squawked while circling the high towers of the castle. Passed the castle walls a bustling market place lay, engulfed with denizens of Midgar, searching and shopping for the latest fashions and jewelry, mostly where the more high-ranking citizens strolled along the paths, squandering gil as though it were it would reappear like the spring leaves on winter-worn trees. All the while, classes of a lower socioeconomic status were forced into back-breaking labor for little pay. King Odin, unfortunately seemed to care little for citizens suffering under his rule. The lack of mercy from their king has caused uproars and various riots for better living conditions, more pay and the supplement for available fresh produce.

Warfare, seemed to be the main occupant toiling with Odin's mind. The constant gain of power and the plunder of riches belonging to other lands were his addiction. As a result, his sons always seemed to be paying the price. It was not Odin who pursued his various rampant battles; Cloud and Zack were his successors. It wasn't that Odin felt no love for his sons, he loved them dearly, but the curse of age as well as a portly shape due to his lavish lifestyle as king of Midgar were taking their toll.

His wife, Ifalna, however, still looked as elegant and youthful as ever. Ifalna despised that her husband could so easily bear the weight of his sons' lives on his shoulders for it felt like the weight of the world on Ifalna. The constant fear of the day when either one or both of her sons would return home. It was almost to much for her to bear.

As much as the war jaded them, prince Cloud, the second heir to the throne behind firstborn Zack seemed to enjoy their many adventures together. They were as inseparable as two brothers could ever be. They supported each other with all they had in them and protected one another as well as the men they fought alongside. It was difficult to tell that they were brothers when it came to similarities in appearance, Cloud shared his mother's pale blonde and deep blue-green whereas Zack's hair was jet black and his eyes were a much deeper, rich blue. The trait they shared was their choice of unruly spiky hairstyles. Both of them shared their infamous traits of being defiant, precocious and rather uncontrollable.

However, as Ifalna strolled passed the lavish white marble and gold engraved walls of the second story castle corridor, she brought with her, an old obligation to which her youngest son's defiance would not serve as a solution. A promise made twelve years ago, was soon to come to fruition and Ifalna knew for certain that Cloud would try to refuse. But in this decision, he had no choice.

His betrothed was due to arrive at the castle within the next day. She felt terribly about not telling Cloud when she'd first received Zangan's letter that his daughter, princess Tifa Lockhart had recently come of age and would be staying at castle Midgar in the endeavor of getting to know her future husband better. Ifalna knew, that had she told him when the letter arrived three weeks ago, that he'd find an excuse to flee the castle grounds on the false terms of sailing or battle.

As she drew closer to Cloud's chambers, the faint sound of breathless moans and squeals came to fill her ears as well as echo throughout the vicinity. She halted upon approaching his door and raised her fist to knock. She paused briefly, inhaling a sharp breath in preparation for the inevitable fit that Cloud was going to throw upon hearing the news. She gathered herself and rapped three quiet knocks on one of the two large, ornate doors.

Cloud immediately ceased thrusting as he turned his face away from his lover and to the source of the noise. "Gaia, what is it now? How is it, I'm always in the middle of something when someone else needs something?"

He turned his head back to his lover, her ebony hair fanned across the light beige silk pillow case, her fringe clung to her sweat glistening forehead. He lowered her left leg from his shoulder and she drew a slight hiss as she felt him exit her. He leaned down to give her a brief kiss before telling her, "I'll be back in just a moment my love." She gave him a brief smile, enhancing the shape of her puppy-dog eyes and nodded.

Cloud reached to the nightstand to pull on his trousers before making his way to the door, swinging it open with a scowl on his face. Everyone was well aware that he hated being disturbed, especially when he was enjoying the company of his mistress. "What the hell i-" he started before casting his eyes up to meet with his mother's green ones.

He scratched the back of his head lightly, his expression softening automatically at the sight of his mother. "Hey mom. Can what ever this is wait? I'm sorta...busy..."

Ifalna peered into the room to find her son's lover covered by the sheet, turned away facing the large balcony windows. She sighed and shook her head before facing her son again. "Yes, I can see that dear, but no, it cannot wait. Cloud nodded and stepped out of the door way, closing the door lightly so as not to wake his, most likely, sleeping partner.

She sighed before starting. "We've received word that princess Tifa will be arriving at the palace early tomorrow morning, I expect you downstairs, in your royal attire and in the throne room at dawn." She decided to make it as blunt and concise as possible, the subject really wasn't worth beating around.

Cloud twisted his face in utter confusion, placing his hands on his hips. _'who the hell is she talking about' _he thought to himself. His eyes, imploring his mother for further information. Twelve years without even so much as a subtle reminder of his forced predicament had clearly stripped the very name of his betrothed from his mind.

Before Cloud could get a word out, he felt the door being pulled open from his grasp and a light hand on his shoulder as his lover came up behind him, with the bed sheet wrapped around herself to conceal her nudity.

Ifalna gave the young woman a discrete smile before greeting her. "Oh hello, Rinoa. Sorry to have interrupted your um...visit...but I'm afraid my son's presence will be needed early tomorrow, he is in need of rest."

Ifalna had never exactly been fond of Cloud's mistress and self-proclaimed girlfriend. Rinoa had arrived at the castle a little over two years ago and the original purpose for her presence in castle Midgar was as a handmaiden. Cloud had instantly took a liking to her feminine features and attributes and quickly became quite infatuated with her. Ifalna, however, had always felt that Rinoa had somewhat used Cloud to further her own reputation amongst the residents of the palace...a servant girl winning the heart of the coveted prince Cloud Strife...quite the difficult social stature to surpass indeed. However, she felt that Cloud had deserved some amount of time of happiness, even with the possibility of said happiness being under false pretenses..given his..situation, that is.

Rinoa batted her lush, raven eyelashes in somewhat of a false aloofness and smiled sweetly, nodding at the queen. "Oh I see, well I suppose I understand." she said with slight sarcasm, the last half of her statement said to Cloud with a teasing look on her face.

Cloud couldn't help himself, he loved that knowing look, cutely twisting Rinoa's features, he leaned down slightly with a half grin to place his lips on hers in a gentle kiss which Rinoa deepened just for good measure. Cloud pulled away from the kiss but not before tugging his lower lip from the grasp of Rinoa's teeth. He watched her walk back into the bed room, glancing over her shoulder and giving him a suggestive look.

With a primal grin, Cloud turned back to his mother. "Uh...yeah..okay mom."

Ifalna sighed heavily, rolling her eyes and shaking her head...men... only one thing on their minds. She threw her left hand up in surrender "Okay, dear...just please don't be late. It's important."

Cloud nodded but remained silent as he gently shut the door as his mother walked away. Feminine giggles now could be heard from outside of the two doors.

As she made her way out of the corridor and down very large, curved staircase, Ifalna couldn't help but pray that her son would somewhat be receptive to the news of his betrothed staying in the castle, though she knew that it was simply wishful thinking. Cloud was extremely stubborn and has always been so. As long as Rinoa held him in her hands, Cloud would easily and without thought, try and reject the princess without so much as a second glance.

This was going to be hell...


	3. Chapter II: Bidding Fairwell

_Okie so here is chapter II! We're finally getting close! Next chapter, the two lovebirds...NOT.. hehe shall meet! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter and hope that some of you aren't too upset about who I paired Cloud with in the last chapter. this is a CLOTI so no worries_

Hopefully will have chapter III up either later tonight or within a couple of days so STAY TUNED!

ENJOY  


_Disclaimer: Don't own a damn thing_

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Overlooking the quaint land of Nibelheim, high atop Mt. Nibel, stood a humble, yet proud castle. The peaks of it's towers hidden beneath a blanket of fresh snow. Compared to the grandeur of castle Midgar, castle Nibelheim resembled more of a large mansion, no need for superfluous extravagances, the castle house the king, his daughter and a just number of servants, guards, as well as the council.

Usually quite the placid environment, on this day, inside the castle walls, the guards and servants were frantically searching for a certain vivacious brunette before their king learned of yet another disappearance of his daughter. Yes, this certainly was nothing new. Princess Tifa was often parading out on her own small adventures, albeit she never went very far, often just exploring around Mt Nibel, or wandering around the village aimlessly through shops. Although it was not advised that the Princess leave the castle walls without a chaperone, most of the time, no one went searching for her when she was not present in the castle. As long as she returned by nightfall, there was no real cause for concern, it happened often enough. Today, however, was not the day for the princess to be MIA, as within mere hours, the royal carriage was going to be awaiting before the castle gates to escort, now eighteen year old Tifa to Midgar.

Leaning on the marble balustrade of his balcony, King Zangan called down to to his First Captain Biggs. " Bring to me at once!" he shouted. Biggs quickly nodded his head. It was rare to see Zangan to in a fowl mood but at the news of his daughter not being present in the castle on today of all days was certainly a justifiable reason to be as furious as he was. He pushed himself from the balustrade and retreated back his quarters, mumbling something in reference to his daughter's boisterous behavior.

Mounted on almost identical chestnut horses, Biggs motioned his head with a jerk toward castle guard Wedge to head toward one direction of the town while he hasted toward the outskirts of the castle on Mt. Nibel. There was no time to waste.

In a small field that lay passed the main village, Tifa sat in it's center, ignoring the chills given by the crystallized, snow covered grass. Leaning back on her hands, she tilted her head back and inhaled a deep breath, allowing the brisk wind to envelop her. "So peaceful." she whispered to herself. This was her escape. She knew very well of the day it was and what it meant for her. Though she had planned on returning, never wanting to disappoint her doting father, her stomach twisted in knots as this journey that she was about to take was not by her own choosing.

She wanted to marry for love, not for the benefit of another kingdom, even if that meant protection for her land and her people. She had a duty to her kingdom and she would never dream of failing it but this seemed so wrong; two people forcefully being joined together for the rest of their lives..could it really get any worse? The turbulent thoughts in her mind told her to run for her life but in her heart, she knew she had to stay, for her peoples' sake. She allowed herself to slump to among the icy grass, huffing a dark strand of hair that had fallen over her face in the process, the frost dampening her priceless cashmere sweater. She gazed up at the heavily clouded and hazy sky just allowing her thoughts to consume her.

But those thoughts were about to be interrupted.

"My Lady!" Wedge shouted in the distance, heavy gallops almost drowning his shouts for her.

Tifa shot up from her spot with a sharp gasp, her back now soaked from the frost covered grass. She gathered herself as Wedge approached on his steed, dismounting to confront her. She held her head high in an attempt to conceal the disdainful mood she was in caused by her harsh reality.

The portly guard held his hand out to the young princess, willing her to allow him to return her to the castle. She reluctantly accepted his hand and with his help, hoisted herself to mount the steed. But before Wedge could take a spot on the in front of Tifa, she dug her heals in and the horse reared loudly, throwing it's front hooves high before galloping off.

He stood wide eyed for a moment before throwing his head back and releasing an extremely aggravated groan. "Goddammit..not again..." and he slumped forward, trudging slowly on the long path back to the castle.

–

Tifa rushed through the castle gates, the steed in full gallop and promptly dismounted in a crouch, the steed rushing past her as guards fled in an attempt to bring the raging steed to a stop. She payed no mind to the the two servants rushing toward her to make sure she was okay. She didn't want to be rude but she could only imagine how furious her father was at her at that moment. She quickly rushed to her up the stone steps to her room and slammed the door shut only for it to swing open with the doors harshly banging against the marble walls. Tifa stood frozen and swallowed the lump in her throat as she saw her father, beet red in the face, marching toward her.

"Tifa Alexandra Lockhart! I have HAD it!" Zangan shouted, pointing a deadly finger toward his disheveled daughter.

Tifa threw her arms out in front of her. "Papa, I'm really sorry!" "I-I was just wandering around for some fresh air is all!" she yelped. She'd never seen her father so angry before. He was always calm and collected. To see him so enraged and at her fault, brought upon so much guilt. She felt as though she was at his mercy.

Zangan released a frustrated sigh, tilting his head up and shaking it slightly to release some of his anger. He simply, couldn't stay mad at her; it was impossible.

"Tifa, you know you aren't permitted to leave the grounds without an escort, it could be dangerous for you, do you know what could happen if word was out that the princess was wandering about in the open with no guard?!"

Tifa opened her mouth slightly to respond but was quickly cut off by her father's voice again.

Now holding a palm up to silence her, he continued with the scolding. "And furthermore, you know very well what day this is, you should be preparing for your leave!" He turned toward Tifa's handmaiden Jessie who was patiently awaiting an order at the door. "Help her get ready will you?"

Jessie curtsied to Zangan before walking up and motioning her hand out for Tifa to follow her to her bathing room. "Come my Lady." she said quietly.

Tifa closed her eyes briefly and sighed. She hung her head low as she started walking toward her handmaiden. About to walk passed her father, he reached for her and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"I know you don't approve of this and letting you go is the hardest thing I've ever had to do." he said as he tenderly stroked her hair. He could feel her trembling slightly in silent sobs. He pulled back and held her at arms length, cupping her cheek with one hand, using his thumb to brush away the flowing tears.

"I pray that you'll understand what all of this is for." he planted a kiss on her forehead and proceeded out of her room.

Quickly wiping her eyes, she let out a ragged breath and followed Jessie to the bathing room to prepare for the inevitable.

–

A mere two hours later, after much preparation from her handmaiden, Tifa stood at the castle steps in front of the carriage, donning a stunning midnight blue gown,fitting her form perfectly and fanning into a long train at the her feet. It was laden with bright crystals across the bodice. Her hair was curled and pulled half up with a white jade comb holding it in place and at at the top of her head lay a sparkling white gold tiara, designed in a series of Celtic knots. She felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly turned to find her father standing next to her wearing a reassuring smile on his face that she knew was just a facade. He held is other hand out containing a small, meticulously carved silver box that contained the gift she was to present to her betrothed upon their meeting. She reluctantly took it and hugged her father tightly, willing herself not to let the tears fall.

Jessie reached out to Tifa to accompany her in the carriage. As she approached she came across a vile looking insect at her feet. With a sly smirk, she turned her head to see if her father was still looking, only to find that he disappeared back into the castle with his guards following him close behind. She quickly crouched down and with a disgusted look, picked up the insect and quickly put it in the silver box, catching a brief glimpse of an elaborate white gold ring, carved beautifully in the shape of a snarling wolf; the Midgar seal.

Tifa looked up to see a wide-eyed Jessie and put a finger up to her lips as a sign for Jessie to remain silent. Her handmaiden nodded furiously and allowed her princess to enter the carriage before herself.

Tifa sighed heavily and leaned her head against the window. She turned to Jessie who had taken a seat by her side. "If I don't have a choice in this..then I am not going be an easy person to live with." she said curtly

As soon as her statement ended, the carriage door shut and began moving within seconds.

Tomorrow was the day.


End file.
